“I Have Never Consciously Called It Diagnostics, That’s Something That Happens Entirely Subconsciously”. Empirical Explorations for a Classism-Reflexive Diagnostics

Abstract

This article examines how Religious Education teachers diagnose heterogeneous learning prerequisites and, in doing so, either reproduce or critically reflect classist lines of difference. The analysis of three case studies shows that diagnostic practices are largely implicit and shaped by normative interpretive patterns, with tendencies toward class-aware, polarizing, or meritocratic attributions. Social inequalities are frequently culturalized or concealed in this process. The article argues for an intersectionally sensitive approach to diagnostics that critically reflects structural conditions, categories of difference, and teachers’ own ascriptions. Implications are discussed for teaching quality, feedback culture, and the professional development of Religious Education teachers.